Happiness Can Equal Longer Life

You might be thinking, “You’re kidding, right?”

Not at all.  According to a recent Huffington Post article (“Happiness Tied To Longer Life, Study Finds”) research published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences comes to that exact conclusion.

The researchers correlated the happiness level of over 3,800 people, ages 52 to 79, multiple times on a given day.  Five years later they tracked how many of those folks had died.

Guess what?  Even accounting for those who had medical conditions or were at risk, such as smokers, those that were happier lived longer.  

Researcher Andrew Steptoe told MSNBC:

I was a bit surprised that the happiness effect was so strong, even among people who had chronic diseases…

Well, I’m glad to see that Professor Steptoe has come to these findings, but I have to admit that it’s not a surprise to me.

I’ve experienced how a sense of happiness and well-being continues to have a positive effect on my health—on my life.  And for me, that positive sense involves a more spiritual way of looking at myself, others, and the world in general.

Everyone in my family wore eyeglasses—back for generations—and when I was in my 40’s I couldn’t put it off any longer.  My eye doctor told me that it was hereditary and also due to the inevitable decline of aging.  I got the glasses and was able to continue my work as a composer, pianist, and teacher. 

But here’s the interesting thing.  During that same time I was thinking a lot about spiritual ideas—ideas that flew in the face of those types of predictions and diagnoses.  Ideas about my—our—unbroken relationship to an all-loving God.  And as I got a happier concept—a clearer thought—about my own spiritual identity, something wonderful happened and it happened abruptly.  One day, without any transition, I simply didn’t need the glasses any longer. 

That happened 12 years ago and my eyesight has remained excellent. 

My eye doctor, by the way, was delighted at the outcome.

A happier thought about ourselves affecting our health?   I can see it.